The Gist
- The real estate market has seen high demand with limited inventory over the past year. To adapt to this unique situation, marketers in this space have had to quickly evolve.
- In 2021, expectations for faster response times and an uptick in remote work have pushed real estate marketers to rely more heavily on technology and tools to get ahead of their competition.
- The right tools — like call tracking and lead management software — will set you apart in 2022 as the industry continues to grow.
After months of pent up demand and plenty of time to conduct research on the right properties for them, consumers unleashed their buying power on the real estate market in 2021. In fact, by May 2021, over 5.8 million houses were sold in the United States - a nearly 45 increase from the year prior.
Such a giant shift in demand and activity quickly sent ripples throughout the economy. Clearly, one of the sectors most impacted by these seismic shifts in customer behavior has been marketing professionals in the real estate space.
Although some have been able to evolve with the fluctuations in demand and limited inventory, others are looking to implement new processes to prepare for what’s around the next corner.
With the benefit of hindsight and insights into current customer experiences, here is a look back at this year in real estate marketing to help us prepare for the year ahead.
What changed for real estate marketing in 2021?
Increased expectation for a personalized customer experience
After years of sending the same email to every contact in their database, marketing professionals in all industries now realize the impact of customization on engagement.
In fact, according to one study, 80 percent of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when a business offers a more personalized experience, especially if the experience can be “curated” to match their interests. This trend is only expected to continue to grow even faster, with the use of customer behavior analytics predicted to grow another 20 percent by 2025. Unfortunately, 34 percent of all marketers say they are limited in their ability to create personalized experiences due to poor data quality.
The ability of some real estate businesses to capitalize on these preferences by harnessing the data they already have can go a long way toward engaging customers and building long-term relationships with them .
Wider adoption of digital platforms
Single sign-on, app integration, and increased cookie use have led consumers to expect seamless, technology-enabled experiences from the businesses they frequent — especially real estate agencies.
That’s because home buyers long ago embraced digital tools. In fact, one study found that by 2020, 97 percent of all home buyers used the internet as part of their home search.
In response, real estate marketing professionals have had to increase their precision with keywords and targeted advertising. In addition, they’re also getting creative in how they blend their marketing efforts, launching cross-platform campaigns and innovative partnerships to reach consumers in new ways.
Expectations for faster response time
In such a competitive real estate market, consumers are looking for every advantage when they’re searching for the right property or courting potential buyers. Time is money, especially today.
Fueled by pandemic-induced digital transformation, businesses are delivering everything faster now, from takeout to paper towels and used cars. So it’s no wonder why real estate companies have tightened up their marketing touchpoints and tactics.
In other words, gone are the days when acceptable lead response times could be measured in hours. Now, the expectation is mere minutes.
What do we predict for 2022 and beyond?
All of the aforementioned changes happened rapidly — maybe too fast for some real estate marketing professionals to incorporate new tools and processes into their workflows. In 2022, we expect them to adopt technologies to help them adjust to this new operating reality.
Increased use of technology for customer management
Real estate marketing professionals need additional tools to help them manage and quickly respond to every type of lead. They also need to make a strong first impression and provide an appropriate level of service.
Lead management tools can qualify and prioritize each lead, provide a consistent experience, and capture the data needed to not only make data-driven decisions, but also monitor for new trends that could point to changes in customer preferences.
Adoption of new channels to engage buyers and sellers
In 2008, 10 percent of Americans had a social media profile. By 2021, 79 percent had one. Millennials are among the most frequent users — and now they account for 37 percent of new home buyers.
Although real estate professionals are rapidly embracing new marketing and social media channels, many are still trying to figure out the best ways to use them to attract and engage real estate buyers and sellers.
In the past, real estate marketers targeted a wide range of potential customers over a long period. But now, social media users expect businesses to engage with them regularly, directly, and not necessarily through traditional campaigns.
In practice, this means marketing professionals not only have to shift how they spend their marketing budgets, but also how and where they focus their energy to best connect with their audience.
Reliance on lead management tools to maximize ROI
Marketing professionals in the real estate space are also changing how they define their leads.
With so many potential customers researching and buying products online — especially as they juggle childcare, school, work, and other stressors — real estate marketing professionals need industry-leading lead management tools to quickly analyze buyer preferences and drive engagement.
This can mean going beyond basic information about a customer and taking the time to understand the drivers behind their preferences, their constraints, and how they prefer to engage and interact with your company.
Steps to take to prepare for the opportunities ahead
If this sounds like a lot of change to adjust to — it is. Add in agents wearing multiple hats due to the labor shortage, and it becomes clear that marketing professionals need every tool they can get to generate an impact.
Fortunately, there are some tried and true platforms that marketing professionals can take advantage of right now. Once in place, these tools can:
Platforms like CallRail include all of these features and more, making your real estate marketing teams more effective with artificial intelligence and automation.
Bringing it all together
This past year was one of the most challenging for those in the real estate marketing industry. However, 2022 is already looking up.
Real estate businesses that know how to innovate, provide customers with personalized experiences, and streamline their operations will be laying the foundation for an even stronger road ahead.
And with CallRail, your team will have all of the tools, analytics, and features needed to track, sort, and act on leads to drive business and maximize marketing dollars.
Ready to get started?
The team at CallRail welcomes the opportunity to get to know your business and show you firsthand how our platform can future-proof your marketing in real estate for years to come.
Contact us here for a 14-day free trial.